The present invention applies to the automatic pasta-making machinery sector and relates, in particular, to a method for producing a corrugated pasta sheet which facilitates the adherence of the sauce to the surface, and an apparatus which puts this method into operation.
A fundamental element characterizing the construction of automatic pasta-makers, which demands constant, generalized research on the part of all constructors in the sector, is the machine's capacity to produce pasta with a rough surface texture, thereby helping the sauce to adhere to the surface once the pasta has been prepared and improving the quality of the dish created.
Although several types of pasta with grooved surface are already well known, endless attempts to construct a machine which is capable of producing corrugated pasta in the form of a sheet produced by extruding the dough forcibly through a slot in a die plate have revealed the difficulties involved; these prevent the desired results from being obtained in a practical way at an industrial level.
Several prototype machines constructed in the past to obtain this product were in fact equipped with extremely complex mechanisms which were not only costly, but were also unreliable and prevented production from progressing at a regular rate; the result, on the one hand, was that the machines were unable to supply a product of consistent, lasting quality, and on the other, that they required frequent servicing and setting up procedures.
Some pasta producers have now chosen to overcome the problem in a different way, attempting to obtain a corrugated surface by means of a heating effect produced during the production process.
The process basically consists of the pasta being fed through the hole in the die plate at a high temperature and then blasted by a strong current of cold air, accelerated by purposely-designed fans, before being rolled by fitted rollers.
By cooling the sheet, the upper layers of the pasta tend to cool down much more rapidly than the internal layers which remain at a higher temperature for a longer period of time. This operating stage produces a corrugated surface which remains intact, even when the pasta is rolled and cut as required, and passes on to the next stages in the production cycle.
The basic problem with this method, however, is the fact that the rough texture produced disappears totally once the pasta is immersed in hot water for cooking.
Immersion in hot water in fact causes all the layers of the pasta, both internal and external, to homogenize.
From the facts described above, it is therefore apparent that this type of operating method produces a corrugated effect of merely aesthetic quality which, disappearing as soon as the pasta is cooked, does not in any way facilitate the coating of the sauce which is generally added once the pasta has been cooked and removed from the water.
The aim of the present invention is to provide a method whereby corrugated pasta is produced which is genuinely capable of retaining the sauce; a method which is simple and reliable; which is capable of ensuring that consistent quality standards are maintained over a period of time; and which can be put into operation with the use of machinery of relatively simple construction, cheap to run, durable and requiring minimal servicing.